Barton Knob
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Barton Knob | |
|---|---|
 View looking south towards Barton Knob | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 4,434 ft (1,351 m)[1] |
| Prominence | 574 ft (175 m)[1] |
| Coordinates | 38°37′01″N 79°55′47″W / 38.61694°N 79.92972°W |
| Geography | |
  Barton Knob Location of Barton Knob in West Virginia | |
| Location | Randolph, West Virginia, United States |
| Parent range | Cheat Mountain |
| Climbing | |
| Access | hike from  FR 227 |
Barton Knob is a mountain summit located on Cheat Mountain in southeastern Randolph County, West Virginia. Easily accessible during warm-weather months, Bickle Knob is also home to one of the few remaining fire towers in Monongahela National Forest.
One of the most notable features is its fire tower, which has graced the top of the mountain since at least 1939.[2] While the tower is still standing as of September 2016[update], it has been abandoned and is no longer safe to climb. In June 2010, the U.S. Forest Service planned to remove the tower as part of a project to construct a radio repeater on Barton Knob. The radio repeater was installed by May 2012 adjacent to the tower, which was not removed.[3]
Strip mining
The area surrounding Barton Knob is also notable for having been strip mined prior to its acquisition by Monongahela National Forest as part of the Mower Tract in 1986.[4] Today, MNF's Strip Mine Trail (Trail #350) traverses much of the area mined on the south side of Barton Knob and a ledge created continuing east along Cheat Mountain.
Rainbow Gathering
In 2005, the Rainbow Gathering considered using (and some may have used) strip-mined land near Barton Knob after being displaced from the original meeting site near Alpena.